Canada is a culturally diverse nation. While the United States is more of a melting pot, Canada celebrates its cultural diversity. With less than 33 million people spread over almost 4 million square miles, to say that there are great expanses between Canada’s major centers would be a mild understatement. But this geographic separation has... View Article

While we all wish it weren’t so, you will sometimes encounter off-flavors in beer. Poor brewhouse technique, problems during fermentation or packaging, product mishandling, even dirty draft lines can all contribute. Here’s a roundup of some of the most common miscreants.

Malt Aroma Nearly all malt flavor and aroma comes from the chemical reactions that occur when malt is kilned. The same chemistry as bread toasting or coffee roasting gives a wide range of possible sensations: bready, nutty, malty, toasty, roasty coffee, chocolate, burnt. Different combinations of time, temperature and other factors create this range. Part... View Article

I imagine you need no instruction on drinking beer. Happily slurping fresh pints at a favorite hangout is a joy that takes little practice to perform with confidence. After my own first half-dozen beers, I had it cold. But appreciating beer means understanding its complexities. You will need to develop a palate that is guided... View Article

Rap The Pain Relievaz “Untether The Blimp.” Dogfish Records (www.dogfish.com ). The follow-up to The Pain Relievaz’s surprisingly witty first disc, “Check Your Gravity” avoids the sophomore jinx with even bigger beats and badder rhymes. Inspirational couplet: “We may be more white than even Bryant Gumbel, but we bitch-slap the mic like it was Barney... View Article

1. “There Stands the Glass” by Webb Pierce (also covered in deeply soulful fashion by the late great Ted Hawkins). My all-time fave—bittersweet, adult, blunt and great fun/therapy to sing and play. 2. “Hungover Together” by the Supersuckers. Hilarious. 3. “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Made a Loser out of Me)” by Jerry Lee Lewis. The... View Article

Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist (remember the five-necked guitar?) and principal songwriter with rock band Cheap Trick, is also a co-owner of award-winning Piece Brewery in Chicago. In the eighties, Tony Dewald was the drummer with the influential Canadian indie “sludgeabilly” duo, Deja Voodoo. He is now the headbrewer at Dix Barbeque and Brewery in Vancouver.... View Article

It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your local brewers are tonight? If it’s a Friday, there’s a good chance they’ve traded their rubber boots for a pair of Doc Martins or blue suede shoes, strapped on a Les Paul or a Fender Jazz Bass, and are about to test the mics and crank up... View Article

At a pub in Seattle, the band on stage launches into the churchy opening riff of “Take Me To The River.” The rendition is more Talking Heads than Al Green. And people in the crowd nod and cheer as they begin to recognize the tune and lock into the rhythms being conjured by bassist Craig... View Article

Politics can generate some surprising alliances. In July, the National Beer Wholesalers Association—the brewing industry’s most influential lobbying group—found itself siding with MADD, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth and similar anti-alcohol organizations. Their common ground was support for H.R. 864, the Sober Truth on Preventing... View Article

Departments

It would be hard to deny that Belgian ales are often a spiritual experience—both literally and figuratively. Because of the alliance that many breweries have with religious abbeys, brewing is seen as equal parts technology and divinity, with some of the brews being downright sublime. Even so, many of Belgium’s secular breweries also seem blessed... View Article

All About Beer: How did you get your start in brewing? Jean-Marie Roc: It’s a long time ago. I was intent to be a brewer when I was 12. I already appreciated. From the beginning, at the midday meal we got low alcoholic beer, tafel beer every day. And on the Saturday evenings in the... View Article

Last issue, when you left us, we were sitting at the bar at the Carolina Brewery (460 West Franklin St.) in Chapel Hill, NC, facing the gleaming 10-barrel Bohemian brewing system, and sipping the wonderful work of brewer Jon Connolly.

Beer Talk

Port Brewing Co. San Diego County, CA Available: CA, AZ The beer is made with Custom Toasted malts that are made by running Golden Promise Barley through our restaurant pizza ovens. Avant Garde features a hybrid fermentation with a lager yeast at ale temps. The Lost Abbey brand of beers are made by Port Brewing... View Article

Coastal Extreme Brewing Co. Newport, RI Available: RI, CT, MA Derek, a stout, is the fourth in the “Cyclone” series of beers, following past limited releases that included a brown ale, a bock and an IPA. These “extreme” beers are given human names, like the Atlantic storms they commemorate. Alcohol (vol.): 8.7 Color: 117 Bitterness:... View Article

New England Brewing Co. Woodbridge, CT Available: CT The Sea Hag is said to be the ghost of the faithful wife of a New Haven scoundrel. When he fled town to escape his creditors, she followed him to sea and vanished mysteriously. Alcohol (vol.): 6.2 Color: copper-amber Bitterness: 65-70 Original Gravity: 15.3 Final gravity: 3.5-3.8... View Article